suLaco

The Prize TRANSLATION LOSS

New York’s sludgy technicians fail to tighten the screw On paper, The Prize sounds like it should be an intense experience. The first Sulaco release in seven years, it sees the sludgy grindcore stalwarts return in a guitar-driven and raucous display. However, even with its miniscule running time of 27 minutes, the mini-LP commits the cardinal sin of simply being boring to endure. Despite its continuous high energy, The

Prize irreparably buckles under the throes of excessive repetition and poor production. Tracks like Disguise and The Road feel unnecessarily bloated, artificially inflated by riffs that constantly recur ad nauseam.

The production only hammers home the tedium, with the dry clickety-clack of the percussion and the absence of any audible bass guitar purveying an aura of soullessness. With improved sound quality and more succinct songwriting, The Prize may have been a gem, but as is, it’s a rather unengaging slog. FOR FANS OF: NAPALM DEATH, HIGH ON FIRE, DEAD CROSS